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Successful Realtors know the importance of branding their
identities into the consciousness of the communities in
which they live, like the big boys; Pepsi, McDonald’s,
Burger King, and other companies we know and have come to
trust.

Why is branding important? Think about it! When you want a
soda do you buy an unknown off-brand just because it’s
cheap?

Or, do you reach for a Coke? I’m a Pepsi guy myself, but you
get my drift!

And why do you do that? Because there’s comfort in
familiarity and you know what you’re getting when you buy
it.

We spend mega bucks on name brand products just because
we’ve been inundated with their marketing campaign messages.

Don’t believe me? Try this! Quick, who said “Have It Your
Way”; “Soup and Sandwich, Soup and Sandwich”; “Oh, I wish I
was an ____ ____ ____, that is what I truly want to Be”.
Point made!

People support businesses and products that they are
comfortably familiar with, even when the familiarity is
solely based on marketing campaigns, while avoiding the
unknowns.

The same is true for homeowners wanting to list properties
for sale with real estate agents. Unless there’s a
compelling reason to do so they’re not going to list their
property with a rookie agent, or worst yet somebody who’s
been in the business for years, but who hasn’t really been
in the business. Know what I mean?

Now, we may not like it but we do understand it. Still, it’s
difficult for newly licensed and even some veteran real
estate agents to make a living selling real estate because
of it.

So how does this impact you? It doesn’t if you have
thousands of dollars and can afford a couple of years to get
beyond it.

But if you’re relatively new to the profession and have
limited resources you just might have a problem.

Established agents have already put in time and money
cultivating their images, and when people in their
respective communities want to buy or sell real estate they
think of them - not you.

So, what can you do about it? Lots actually, but for now
I’ll focus on one thing; farming prospects.

Why? Because when done right you can easily put hundreds of
business cards, letters and other marketing materials in the
hands of known sellers and potential buyers every month.

Simply stated, the more people you contact the sooner you
brand yourself as an agent worthy of consideration. Anything
short of this is whistling in the wind.

Take a moment and honestly assess your situation. How many
contacts are you presently averaging - daily, weekly,
monthly?

Are they random contacts (shotgun approach) of people who
might be interested in your services, or with real prospects
known to need services right now (laser beam approach)?

A good real estate listing system can help put you on a fast
track to gaining name recognition within your community in
months, instead of years. And it won’t cost you thousands of
dollars to implement.

Let me suggest, though, that you avoid systems that appear
complicated, or that are hundreds of pages long. If it takes
days to read and weeks to comprehend whose really going to
read it and follow through to boring completion, anyway? Not
me!

Also, consider the following before committing to a
particular listing system.

1. Does it come with a satisfaction money back guarantee?

2. If you’re buying on line is a contact name and phone
number readily available on the website?

3. Can you reach anybody or get a response to a message when
you call before buying?

If the answers to any of the above are a resounding “no”
then I suggest that you put your credit card back in your
pocket and continue looking.

Proceed with caution, but do proceed, as you need a system
that’ll give you a competitive advantage.

Summarily, a good real estate listing system can help you
brand yourself relatively quickly. So, get one as soon as
you can and start claiming your share of the market!

Lanard Perry is the author of “Farming Expired Listings”, a
real estate listing system that shows Realtors how to secure
1-2 real estate listings a week. Get a FREE Sample Chapter at
http://www.farmingexpiredlistings.com

Tags: farming expired listings, marketing, Real Estate, real estate marketingfarming expired listings, marketing, Real Estate, real estate marketing

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Products and services sell because of the benefits they offer to small business owners. An information sheet tends to focus on the features of a product or service, but an article gives you an opportunity to integrate those features with benefits of value to the bottom line success of your small business marketplace.

What is it that your products or services help a small business accomplish? Frame up the content of your small business article with ideas and methods your product or service impacts. For example, don’t talk about the latest technical innovation of your product, but discuss the area of specific function of small business your product relates to.

Keep your article content short and hands-on in nature. Your small business audience may not all be speed-readers, but they will glance at the text for key points or action steps. Don’t frustrate them with too much copy.

Make it easy for small business readers to connect your content with an action step and your related products or services. This may seem at odds with the idea of solving problems rather than discussing specific features. What you want to do is provide a specific recommendation along side the article content. This recommendation may be presented as separate product or service text block or graphic.

Don’t hide your brand. Use your logo and / or slogan as part of the layout of your small business article. Blend the content with your branding so the whole piece works to both inform and market to the targeted small business function your products and services support and add value to.

Done correctly, your products and services provide content for articles your small business market can benefit from when you get beyond the product and service features and into the solutions you offer small businesses.

Brand a copy of The Profit Puzzle to promote your B2B small business products and services. Visit http://www.profitpuzzle.com to download a Free Copy of The Profit Puzzle Solution Guides to see how you can promote your brand to the small home based business marketplace.

Tags: products, products anb services, services, Small businessproducts, products anb services, services, Small business

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From cigarettes to fashion accessories to food products to medicines, more than 50% of the global market are filled with counterfeited products. Do you realise that the Nike t-shirt that you are probably wearing right now may not even exist in the design portfolio of Nike Inc. It may have been produced by a small time designer who sits in the busy lanes of New Delhi in India and charges less than $1 to give you the swoosh in any colour, any form and any design as requested! A true form of ‘customisation’.

Counterfeit branding in one way is the smartest way of doing business in the 21st century. Think about it. Large global corporations spend millions of dollars developing a brand and once the brand becomes popular, millions of businessmen on the other side of the world start thinking about the strategy to increase their product lines! In other words, people running the counterfeit market seem much more smarter than an investment banker. They do their business at the cost of large corporations.

Only in India, the “fakes” market is estimated to be worth more than $2 billion and it’s growing by nearly 20% every year. With the weak execution of Intellectual Property Rights and the growing corruption, there is no doubt that very soon one may find himself driving a counterfeited car! If you think it won’t happen to you, think again. There are nearly 128 ‘known versions’ of Parachute Hair Oil, 113 of Fair & Lovely cream, 44 of Vicks VapoRub, and 38 of Clinic Plus Shampoo. The reasons they are so popular with counterfeiters is because they are money-spinning brands with wide appeal, easily reproduced and sold in the Indian market. The problem is manifest across all product categories throughout the country - medicines, FMCG products, cosmetics, foodstuffs, aerated soft drinks, liquor, watches, clothes and even currency . Consumers are often unaware that they buy products that resemble what they want. This is worrying companies because fake products often ride on the success of the original product, eating into sales, and, in some cases, harming the consumer. For counterfeiters, it is the easiest thing. Put a passable product into a tube, with markings that resemble the original and market it in rural, semi-urban areas, through promoters, agents and retailers willing to make a quick buck. For most, the con job is easy to carry through.

Consider the figures. Counterfeit products comprise $200 billion a year. Ironically, it is even endemic in countries such as China, which is known for flooding the world market with low-cost priced products. In China, losses from counterfeiting are estimated at approximately 20 per cent of total sales revenues for MNCs such as Procter & Gamble ($150 million), Nike ($70 million), Unilever ($24 million), Gillette ($20 million), Johnson & Johnson ($15 million) and $6 million for BestFoods.
Most of the products copied are top-selling brands and consumers could be seriously affected while consuming low quality adulterated products, particularly in the food and drug categories. These are usually manufactured under unhygienic conditions and without proper technical supervision. According to a study conducted by AC Nielsen in India on 30 FMCG companies, eight out of every ten consumers who purchased pass-off products felt cheated and only knew after purchase that the product was a pass-off. Surprisingly, 42 per cent of all the consumers surveyed were aware of the existence of pass-off brands in the market and either saw them in shops, read about them in newspapers or saw them on TV. Though brands such as Pepsi and Coke in India have dropped prices substantially to make their products the flavour of the masses, spurious products still score because of poor consumer awareness. And fake product manufacturers reap windfalls because there are barely any input costs, no safety standards involved, excise or taxes paid.

It takes more than the vigilance of a trademark team to combat smart counterfeiters. Unfortunately, say sources, the cost of the battle is to be borne totally by such companies. According to one source, adopting tamper-proof packaging and hologramming practices are prohibitive exercises that will raise prices and repel the cost-sensitive Indian buyer. Hologramming can cost between $500,000 and $5 million! Ironically, higher prices can push customers to switch product loyalties better than the best ad campaigns. Despite the seriousness, almost all the companies are vague about the methods to educate consumers. They are shying away from aggressive methods, mainly because the Indian consumers’ tendency has been to totally avoid the imitated product rather than determine whether it is authentic

SOMETHING TO SPICE YOU UP FURTHER

According to the Web site of De La Rue, a UK-based commercial security printer and papermaker involved in the production of over 150 national currencies and a wide range of security documents:

Tags: Counterfeit Branding, Fake Branding, Gaurav BahirvaniCounterfeit Branding, Fake Branding, Gaurav Bahirvani

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